The second day of the strike by TIB public bus workers in Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza has seen greater participation than last Friday and is proceeding without any scheduled meetings between the union and the concessionary companies. According to the SATI union, which represents the majority of workers in the sector, the figures for the 24-hour strike today, Monday are higher than those for Friday.
Pending official data, they estimate that more than 90 per cent of workers in Mallorca are participating in the strike. The Balearic Transport Business Federation (FEBT) has indicated that participation is similar to that of the first day, with some increases in certain areas. The second day of the strike comes after a weekend in which the Regional Ministry of Labour, Public Service and Social Dialogue has been in contact with both parties. However, no meeting has been scheduled to try to reach an agreement.
According to union spokesperson Juan Rodríguez, SATI believes that the employers ‘still do not want to talk about working hours’, a fundamental issue among the workers’ demands. FEBT manager Petra Mut, for her part, said that the employers are still waiting for ‘a rapprochement’ to resolve the situation. ‘We are open to dialogue,’ she said, adding that they are confident of finding common ground.
She also stressed that there were no incidents involving vehicles on Monday, unlike on Friday when seven buses were damaged by stone-throwing. ‘It gives us a little more peace of mind,’ she said.
However, those drivers who are working are on a go-slow - even non non-strike days.
On Saturday while driving from the centre of Palma to Illetas, we were stuck behind a TIB bus and the driver was clearly on a go-slow taking all the time in the world at traffic lights and driving at a very slow speed causing traffic to build up behind, especially where it was impossible to overtake. A very crafty tactic indeed, especially as normal services were due to have been running. Must have also been frustrating for passengers on the bus.